Ethnoichthyological contribution to the official fisheries document concerning fisheries closure of some commercial fish categories in the western Brazilian Amazon, Guaporé River, Rondônia, Brazil

There are conflicts among fishermen and local environmental protection agencies that regulate fishing in the area, concerning the official closure periods of the fisheries. The fishermen affirm that the dates established for protection of spawning do not correspond to the spawning season of the primary commercialized species, and that this could be hindering the local fish markets. This report compares the traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) with information obtained from experimental fishery and scientific data covering the reproduction periods of the primary categories of fish market in the region. Of the 28 fish categories analyzed, 14 (50%) were captured in experimental fishing and were evaluated. The TEK confirmed the experimental information for 10 categories of fish (72%). The results suggest the necessity of adjusting the official protection dates stipulated for the following fish categories: caparari (Pseudoplatystoma tigrinun), Sorubim (P. fasciatum), tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum), pescada (Plagioscion squamosissimus) and tucunaré (Cichla ocellaris). The discussion deals with a possibly inadequate period of protection based on the information obtained from different basins applied to larger and more diverse areas of the Brazilian Amazon Rainforest. This study confirms the refined biological knowledge that the fishermen have of the species they exploit and suggests that the traditional ecological knowledge can be useful to adjust political issues dealing with the regional protection agency of fishing.